STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company grants stock-based awards under its 2006 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2006 Plan”). The 2006 Plan replaced the Company’s 2003 Stock Option Plan (the “2003 Plan”) and certain other prior stock option plans. The 2003 Plan and these other plans terminated upon the 2006 Plan’s initial stockholder approval in June 2006, other than with respect to outstanding options, which continued to be governed by the applicable prior plan. Only awards under the 2003 Plan continue to be outstanding insofar as these prior plans are concerned. Shares issued as a result of stock-based compensation transactions generally have been funded with the issuance of new shares of the Company’s common stock.

The Company may grant the following types of incentive awards under the 2006 Plan: (i) non-qualified stock options (“NQs”); (ii) incentive stock options (“ISOs”); (iii) stock appreciation rights; (iv) restricted stock; (v) restricted stock units (“RSUs”); (vi) performance share units; and (vii) other stock-based awards. Each award granted under the 2006 Plan is subject to an award agreement that incorporates, as applicable, the exercise price, the term of the award, the periods of restriction, the number of shares to which the award pertains, applicable performance period(s) and performance measure(s), and such other terms and conditions as the plan committee determines.

Through August 4, 2013, the Company has granted under the 2006 Plan: (i) service-based NQs, RSUs and restricted stock; (ii) contingently issuable performance share units; and (iii) RSUs that are intended to satisfy the performance-based condition for deductibility under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. According to the terms of the 2006 Plan, for purposes of determining the number of shares available for grant, each share underlying a stock option award reduces the number available by one share, each share underlying a restricted stock award reduces the number available by two shares and each share underlying an RSU or performance share unit award reduces the number available by three shares for awards made before April 29, 2009 and by two shares for awards made on or after April 29, 2009. The per share exercise price of options granted under the 2006 Plan cannot be less than the closing price of the common stock on the date of grant (the business day prior to the date of grant for awards granted prior to September 21, 2006).

The Company currently has service-based NQs and ISOs outstanding under the 2003 Plan. Such options were granted with an exercise price equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the business day immediately preceding the date of grant.

Under the terms of the merger agreement in connection with the Warnaco acquisition, each outstanding award of Warnaco stock options, restricted stock and restricted stock units has been assumed by the Company and converted into an award of the same type, and, subject to the same terms and conditions, but payable in shares of Company common stock. The stock options are generally exercisable in three equal annual installments commencing one year after the date of original grant and the RSUs and restricted stock awards generally vest three years after the date of original grant, principally on a cliff basis. The Company accounted for the replacement awards as a modification of the existing awards. As such, a new fair value was assigned to the awards, a portion of which is included as part of the merger consideration. The merger consideration of $39,752 was determined by multiplying the estimated fair value of the Warnaco awards outstanding at the effective time of the Warnaco acquisition, net of the estimated value of awards to be forfeited, by the proportionate amount of the vesting period that had lapsed as of the acquisition date. The remaining fair value, net of estimated forfeitures, is being expensed on a straight-line basis over the awards’ remaining vesting periods.

Net (loss) income for the twenty-six weeks ended August 4, 2013 and July 29, 2012 included $34,478 and $18,891, respectively, of pre-tax expense related to stock-based compensation.

Stock options currently outstanding, with the exception of the Warnaco employee replacement awards discussed above, are generally cumulatively exercisable in four equal annual installments commencing one year after the date of grant. The vesting of such options outstanding is also generally accelerated upon retirement (as defined in the applicable plan). Such options are generally granted with a 10-year term.

The Company estimates the fair value of stock options granted at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton model. The estimated fair value of the options, net of estimated forfeitures, is expensed on a straight-line basis over the options’ vesting periods.

The following summarizes the assumptions used to estimate the fair value of service-based stock options granted during the twenty-six weeks ended August 4, 2013 (with the exception of the Warnaco employee replacement stock options) and July 29, 2012:



	Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
	8/4/13			7/29/12
Weighted average risk-free interest rate	1.05		%	1.20		%
Weighted average expected option term (in years)	6.22			6.25
Weighted average Company volatility	45.20		%	45.16		%
Expected annual dividends per share	$	0.15		$	0.15
Weighted average grant date fair value per option	$	51.51		$	40.59

The Company has continued to utilize the simplified method to estimate the expected term for its “plain vanilla” stock options granted due to a lack of relevant historical data resulting, in part, from changes in the pool of employees receiving option grants. The Company will continue to evaluate the appropriateness of utilizing such method.

The following summarizes the assumptions used to estimate the fair value of the Warnaco employee stock options that were replaced at the effective time of the acquisition:



	Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
	8/4/13
Weighted average risk-free interest rate	0.24		%
Weighted average expected option term (in years)	1.70
Weighted average Company volatility	29.40		%
Expected annual dividends per share	$	0.15
Weighted average grant date fair value per option	$	40.60

Service-based stock option activity for the twenty-six weeks ended August 4, 2013 was as follows:



	Options	Weighted Average Price Per Option
Outstanding at February 3, 2013	1,958	$	44.17
Replacement of Warnaco awards	443	86.26
Granted	182	117.03
Exercised	381	64.43
Cancelled	12	93.60
Outstanding at August 4, 2013	2,190	$	54.95
Exercisable at August 4, 2013	1,511	$	42.83

RSUs granted to employees, with the exception of the Warnaco employee replacement awards, generally vest in three annual installments of 25%, 25% and 50% commencing two years after the date of grant. Service-based RSUs granted to non-employee directors vest in four equal annual installments commencing one year after the date of grant for awards granted prior to 2010 and vest in full one year after the date of grant for awards granted during or after 2010. The underlying RSU award agreements (excluding agreements for non-employee director awards made during or after 2010) generally provide for accelerated vesting upon the award recipient’s retirement (as defined in the 2006 Plan). The fair value of service-based RSUs, with the exception of the Warnaco employee replacement awards, is equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant and is expensed, net of estimated forfeitures, on a straight-line basis over the RSUs’ vesting periods.

RSU activity for the twenty-six weeks ended August 4, 2013 was as follows:



	RSUs	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested at February 3, 2013	660	$	62.24
Replacement of Warnaco awards	120	120.72
Granted	234	119.06
Vested	244	61.24
Cancelled	24	79.78
Non-vested at August 4, 2013	746	$	89.25

The Company’s restricted stock awards consist solely of awards to Warnaco employees that were replaced with the Company’s restricted stock as of the effective time of the acquisition. The fair value of restricted stock with respect to awards for which the vesting period had not lapsed as of the acquisition date was equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on February 12, 2013 and is expensed, net of forfeitures, on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.

Restricted stock activity for the twenty-six weeks ended August 4, 2013 was as follows:



	Restricted Stock	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested at February 3, 2013	—	$	—
Replacement of Warnaco awards	271	120.72
Granted	—	—
Vested	174	120.72
Cancelled	8	120.72
Non-vested at August 4, 2013	89	$	120.72

The Company granted contingently issuable performance share units to certain of the Company’s senior executives during the first quarter of each of 2012 and 2013 subject to a performance period of two years and a service period of one year beyond the performance period. The Company granted contingently issuable performance share units to certain of the Company’s executives during the second quarter of each of 2010 and 2013 subject to performance periods of three years each. The holders of the awards granted on May 6, 2010 that were subject to a performance period of three years earned an aggregate of 498 shares as a result of the Company’s performance during such three-year period. For the awards granted in the second quarter of 2013, the final number of shares that will be earned, if any, is contingent upon the Company’s achievement of goals for the performance period, of which 50 percent is based upon the Company’s absolute stock price growth during the performance period and 50 percent is based upon the Company’s total shareholder return during the performance period relative to other companies included in the S&P 500 as of the date of grant. For the awards granted in the first quarter of each of 2012 and 2013, the final number of shares that will be earned, if any, is contingent upon the Company’s achievement of goals for each of the performance periods based on both earnings per share growth and return on equity for the awards granted in the first quarter of 2012 and earnings per share growth for the awards granted in the first quarter of 2013 during the applicable performance cycle.

For the contingently issuable performance share units granted prior to the second quarter of 2013, the Company records expense ratably over each applicable vesting period based on fair value and the Company’s current expectations of the probable number of shares that will ultimately be issued. The fair value of these contingently issuable performance share units is equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, reduced for the present value of any dividends expected to be paid on the Company’s common stock during the performance cycle, as these contingently issuable performance share units do not accrue dividends prior to the completion of the performance cycle.

For the contingently issuable performance share units granted during the second quarter of 2013, because the awards are subject to market conditions, the Company records expense ratably over the vesting period, net of estimated forfeitures, regardless of whether the market condition is satisfied. The fair value of such awards was established on the grant date using the Monte Carlo simulation model, which was based on the following assumptions:



	Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
	8/4/13
Risk-free interest rate	0.34		%
Expected Company volatility	38.67		%
Expected annual dividends per share	$	0.15
Grant date fair value per performance share unit	$	123.27

Performance share unit activity for the twenty-six weeks ended August 4, 2013 was as follows:



	Performance Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested at February 3, 2013	594	$	57.08
Granted	920	122.57
Vested	498	51.07
Cancelled	36	122.45
Non-vested at August 4, 2013	980	$	119.26

The Company receives a tax deduction for certain transactions associated with its stock plan awards. The actual income tax benefits realized from these transactions for the twenty-six weeks ended August 4, 2013 and July 29, 2012 were $45,554 and $12,606, respectively. Of those amounts, $15,091 and $7,082, respectively, were reported as excess tax benefits. Excess tax benefits arise when the actual tax benefit resulting from a stock plan award transaction exceeds the tax benefit associated with the grant date fair value of the related stock award. The Company recognizes these excess tax benefits in additional paid in capital only if an incremental tax benefit would be realized after considering all other tax benefits presently available to the Company.